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No, not at all. And the way a few people on multiple sides are trying to pump up the paranoia is both par for the course and disturbing. I have little doubt that the vast majority of cops and the vast majority of protestors will conduct themselves as civilized human beings. That said, I also expect at least a few trouble makers, intent on achieving the theater of cheap martyrdom, to try their best to cause trouble. So predictable, and so very sad.

Well, I'm glade my Deputy Ministers at The Reader and WBEZ continue to make snide comments and jokes about Occupy Wall Street to make Chicagoans suspicious and wary against the protesters. I've from history that a lot can be accomplished in a society full of good Germans. Now please excuse me as I take my leave. I need to get my dress uniform from the cleaners, I'm attending a cocktail party hosted by Jamie Dimon at the AON Building. I wonder would Carlotta be my date?

"I've from history that a lot can be accomplished in a society full of good Germans."

People like you really need to work harder to come up with a better cliche that also manages to mangle history, as all ideology does. That prof from Colorado (forget his name, since dismissed, made the comments about World Trade Center workers) had you beat by a decade or so. Seriously, try harder.

My employer is allowing us to work remotely on Monday. I have a couple of co-workers who live in Printer's Row who are still working in the office. They are looking forward to any excitement. I'd be doing the same but I live in Edgewater and take the Red Line to work so I don't want to run the risk of a nightmare commute. I'm also starting to worry about Friday ... in addition to anything NATO-related, the Sox are at Cubs for a 1:20 game, which means I'll navigate a double-whammy of drunk-all-day Sox idiots downtown and drunk-all-day Cubs idiots up north. Fun.

Eight people were abducted by Chicago Police officers in Bridgeport at 11 p.m. last night. This is being reported on WBEZ and elsewhere. Please call 312-746-7619 and ask what has happened to these people. This is illegal, unethical, et cetera, and a simple, polite phone call to the police station might help. We cannot let things like this pass.

David, at this point, 'abducted' is rather strong at this point, don't you think, especially without all the fact yet in. You are a writer, right? Well, words have meanings. That's why we have so many good ones in our beautiful language.

Seriously, though, does one really need to be incendiary on such a weekend? Please don't mistake this as a call for knee-jerk support of CPD, nor a sign that I am naive about reality. No, I just dislike how reckless language often turns out to be inaccurate--I've made a living as a non-fiction writer for a very long time--and can, indeed, increase the general tone of recklessness.

Take a breath and calm yourself, David. We could all take that advice this weekend.

Dear "vise",
When people are taken from their home in the night by police without being charged with a crime, abducted is definitely not too strong a word.
Also, people in our society spend way too much time being calm. And a simple, polite telephone call was definitely not too much to ask.
Four of the protesters were released, by the way. The others are charged with "making" Molotov cocktails. The materials confiscated look exactly like those materials used to make homemade beer.

"Also, people in our society spend way too much time being calm. And a simple, polite telephone call was definitely not too much to ask. "

Because cheap hysteria does wonders, right? And I'd be careful about whom you choose as your heroes and martyrs, at least not with all the facts in yet. That's not being 'calm,' that's being reasonable--reason being a cornerstone of what we like think is dignity and civilized thought. But, don't believe me. You are a famous writer with tons of experience covering arrests and court cases and such, right? I mean, you have a blog ...

Shame on me for not jumping to conclusions nor choosing my heroes and martyrs unwisely? Uh, yeah. I think I prefer the reasonable 'calm' of an individual who can think for himself over the giddy emotion that comes with the mob mentality. That you likely don't respect the difference, based on your comments here, makes me pity you. After all, going with the mob mentality side of things is just another way that you let yourself be ruled. The Man is all around, not just in blue. Sometimes he wears a Che shirt, too.

"Our humanity has been compromised by those who use Gestapo tactics in our war. The longer we stand idly by while they do so, the more we resemble those “good Germans” who professed ignorance of their own Gestapo."

"Thank you Spook, well said. I'm sorry vise77, but there's something about you that sends an unwelcome chill down my spine. You just seem so yucky."

Well, I won't jump on your bandwagon, give my self over to a granite conclusion before all the facts are in, so, yeah, I can see how people like you can be put out. See, you somehow think I am against you, not on your side, when all I am really saying is have a bit of patience before deciding who your heroes and martyrs are. That you cannot recognize why I urge this is why I pity people like you, who swap reason for hysteria and ideology.

Please note how the defense lawyers for your beer-making heroes have changed their stories at least twice know. I have worked in courts, I have covered courts for newspapers; such a change in story usually means something--perhaps not outright guilt, but certainly not the puppy-dog innocence you are trying to sell here. But, I am only going on experience, not what I want to be true, as is the case with you. Do you have experience working in or covering criminal courts?

Dominick: Perhaps if you want to call me things like shameful and yucky, even on a blog, you should explain your thinking behind it. I have attempted to explain where I am coming from--you might disagree with it, but I have attempted to explain. Perhaps you could be civilized and do the same. Or, enjoy your own self-evident brilliance. Your call.